The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, a leader in genetic research, believes that patients have a right to know whether they have genetic disorders. They believe that patents on human genes pose a significant obstacle for diagnosing and caring for patients and so they have filed a test case in order to change the Canadian approach to gene patenting.

Professor Richard Gold is the founding Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy at McGill University and is leading the team of experts advising the court in the CHEO test case. Dr. Julie Richer is the first author on the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists’ patent position statement as well as a doctor at CHEO. They will be discussing the practical and ethical considerations involved in genetic patenting, specifically in context of the CHEO case.